A. The Fair to Middling Pumpkin.Q. What did Linus wait up for until the Witching Half-Hour?

A. Elon Musk cologne.Q. What reminds you of burning tire rubber and is so strong you could smell it from space?

● Elon Musk cologne. ● It’s a popular drinking game, of course. ● $3.33 an hour. ● A pith helmet. ● Flake, cake and rake. ● The Fair to Middling Pumpkin. ● The Supreme Court’s softball team. ● Superman’s hat. ● An almost-everything bagel. ● The room where it happened. ● The womb where it happened. ● This week’s least watched podcast. ● Two man buns. ● And so we named him Kanye. ● Grace at the Trumps’ Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s the contest that keeps on contesting, ever since the Empress’s predecessor, the Czar, introduced it in Week 24, more than 25 years ago: Above are 15 “answers.” Tell us the questions. Do one or more, up to a total of 25 A&Q’s. Write the answer first, followed by the question.

Winner gets the Lose Cannon, our Style Invitational trophy. Second place receives an Icky Squeezy Two-Pack: a gratifyingly gooey eyeball with some crudely drawn veins and what seems to be an inadvertent cataract starting across the iris; and Sticky the Poo, a poop emoji that not only squishes in one’s hand but also “ ‘splats’ & sticks to any flat surface — like walls and doors!” We’re excited just from quoting the package! Both donated by Loser Dave Prevar.

Other runners-up win our “You Gotta Play to Lose” Loser Mug or our Grossery Bag, “I Got a B in Punmanship” (or perhaps a new design). Honorable mentions get one of our lusted-after Loser magnets, “We’ve Seen Better” or “IDiot Card.” First Offenders receive only a smelly tree-shaped air “freshener” (FirStink for their first ink). Deadline is Monday night, Oct. 29; results published Nov. 18 (online Nov. 15). See general contest rules and guidelines at wapo.st/InvRules. The headline for this week’s results is by Jesse Frankovich; Jesse also wrote this week’s honorable-mentions subhead, “Insteadlines” is by Tom Witte and “Webster Diving” by Jon Gearhart. Join the Style Invitational Devotees group on Facebook at on.fb.me/invdev. “Like” Style Invitational Ink of the Day on Facebook at bit.ly/inkofday; follow @StyleInvite on Twitter.

The Style Conversational The Empress's weekly online column, published late Thursday afternoon, discusses each new contest and set of results. Especially if you plan to enter, check it out at wapo.st/styleconv.

In Week 1298, continuing through the alphabet in a contest we started two years ago, we asked what organizations, practices, etc., might take the abbreviation GHI, HIG, IGH, etc., or GGG, HHH, III, or in between.

GGG: Golden General Guideline: Treat others as you would wish to be treated, except the ones you don’t like. (Jesse Frankovich, Grand Ledge, Mich.)

HGI: Human-generated imagery: A new special-effects variation on CGI — in which, for example, a filmmaker could make it appear that a character is running by having the actor move from one place to another very quickly. (Hildy Zampella, Alexandria, Va.)

And Last: Kavanaugh offers details on birth mirth control commentsJudge argues that banning Style Invitational is ‘in the public interest’(William Kennard, Arlington, Va.)

Webster diving: More new-word poems from Week 1296

In Week 1296 we asked for short poems featuring one of 35 words recently added to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. See the original ink at wapo.st/invite1300.

Nanobot, a very tiny robotic toolRobots, robots everywhere, At home, at work, at play. They even offer sexbots now, The future is today! Last week the White House ordered one,But when asked “What size? What price?”They said, “Just add it to the debt,A nano should suffice.”(Dave Zarrow, Reston, Va.)

Avo (avocado); guac (guacamole)My recipe for guac is simp — there’s not a lot of prep: Two avos, half a mato, some cilan and one hot pep. (Jesse Frankovich)

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Pat MyersPat Myers is editor and judge of The Style Invitational, The Washington Post's page for clever, edgy humor and wordplay. In the role since December 2003, she has posted and judged more than 700 contests. She also writes the weekly Style Conversational column and runs the Style Invitational Devotees page on Facebook. Follow